1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to gaskets and their method of creating seals.
2. Related Art
Gaskets are commonly used to create a seal about passages extending between bodies attached to one another, such as in internal combustions engines, for example. It is known to form gaskets from a sheet or laminated sheets of imperforate gasket body material with a generally rigid core, and a more compliant material overlaying the core to create a resilient sealing surface for abutment with the bodies. The gaskets have openings formed through the imperforate body, wherein the openings conform with the passages, thereby providing an imperforate outer periphery for establishing a seal between the mating bodies and a completely unobstructed and open fluid flow path through the passages extending between the bodies.
In an effort to reduce weight and cost, it is known to construct the core using a meshed wire material with a resilient outer sealing surface material applied over the meshed core to form a completely imperforate, solid body of gasket material. At some point, as mentioned above, openings are formed through the imperforate body, such as in a secondary operation, to provide an open path for fluid flow.